“After Midnight” Review – Talent Exploding from the Stage | Splash Magazines

Remarkable splits in the air dazzled throughout the show

It’s difficult to imagine “After Midnight” eventually going on tour around the country.

This is one Broadway show that it’s probably best to travel to New York to see, as the assemblage of talent (musicians, singers, dancers) is so extraordinary it’s unlikely stand-ins or understudies could pull it off with the same style and energy.

Every act had a costume change making for great visual interest throughout

Here is a video snippet of the 90 minutes of rhythms from the stage.

Poems by Langston Hughes, night clubs that date back to the prime of the Jazz Age, and lots of Duke Ellington music—that’s the setting.

Dule Hill is the host reciting Langston Hughes poem snippets that put us in the frame of mind of the Harlem Renaissance

Picture extra spice from breakdancing too on top of tap and jazz dancing with amazing splits on ground and in air.

90 minutes constant action with 27 songs, most with dance—WOW!

Tap dancers fly across the stage

The stars in the cast include Fantasia Barrino of earlier “American Idol” fame and Dulé Hill known to many from “The West Wing” and other film/TV credits.

Fantasia Barrino sings "Zaz Zuh Zaz" by Caby Calloway & Harry White

Truth to tell, these stars do shine but so does everyone else in the cast such that they are just part of the ensemble.

The ensemble all white-clad collects on stage near the show's close

One has to think back to Ziegfield follies to picture costumes so sparkling, whether they are jewel clad showgirls a la Josephine Baker or debonair white suit finery.

Three of The Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars come center stage near the show close

If there is one star it is probably the band, The Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars, all chosen by music legend Wynton Marsalis, whose stage moved back and forth as they either accompanied or took center spotlight.